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Wow. So it’s been a over a year since I last posted and I am very very sorry for neglecting this blog. Partly because I really enjoy writing these posts and they became a great way for me to express my ups and downs over the last few years. But over the last year and half I was absorbed in writing something so massive that I had no words left in me at all at the end of the day – even fun ones.

Yes, I was writing my PhD thesis. Now as anyone else who has done this will know it is all encompassing. A behemoth.

IT CONTROLS EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE.

And for a while I couldn’t see anything beyond it. Now it is done: written, submitted, viva’ed and alterations made, my PhD is officially over.

I did it – you can now call me Dr Gibson (squees endlessly in the background).

It was really, really, REALLY difficult to write. I wrestled with just the writing for over a year and I’m still not sure I have the required distance to write about the experience. Maybe later. But for now, yes I am back, I’ll try and get on with regular posting as well as making good on some posts I have been thinking about and have sat in my drafts folder for waaaay too long.

As proof, and in an effort to follow the excellent example of Open Access champion Dr Jon Tennant in making my work as accessible as possible, I have added my thesis onto Figshare, you can read it here if you want (it’s also on my University Open Access page Pearl).

But don’t feel obliged – it’s really long!

And so, on to the future! It’s good to be back.

You can see how happy I was to hand in my thesis – it was the end of a very long year.